Pope: ‘politics is a commitment
to humanity and holiness’
 |
| Giorgio La Pira with the city of Florence in the background. |
Pope Francis on Friday pointed to the figure of the
Venerable Giorgio La Pira as a model for Italian and international statesmen in
their duty to work for the common good.
By Linda Bordoni
“At a time when the complexity of Italian and international
political life requires statesmen of substantial human and Christian” value in
the service of common good, Pope Francis held up the figure of
the Venerable Giorgio La Pira saying he is an exemplary model
for the Church and for the contemporary world.
The Pope was addressing some 200 members of the “Giorgio La
Pira Foundation” whom he received in the Vatican.
The Venerable Giorgio La Pira
Giorgio La Pira, whose cause for beatification was approved
by Pope Francis this year, was a committed Catholic MP in the years after World
War II and then mayor of Florence until 1966. He was known well beyond the
Florentine borders for his evangelical inspired social battles and for
promoting peace events.
St. Pope John Paul II recalled La Pira several times
pointing out his “extraordinary experience as a politician and a believer,
capable of uniting contemplation and prayer to social and administrative
activity, with a preference for the poor and the suffering”.
In his speech, Pope Francis described La Pira as “an
enthusiastic witness to the Gospel and a prophet of modern times” saying that
his attitudes were always inspired by a Christian perspective, while his action
was often ahead of his time.
He mentioned his long career in the public space, of how he
gave life to charitable works, and of how, when persecuted by the fascist
regime he took refuge in the Vatican before being able to join the Constituent
Assembly and to contribute to the drafting of the Italian Constitution.
“But his mission in the service of the common good found its
summit in the period when he was mayor of Florence, in the fifties” the Pope
said, when “La Pira took a political line open to the needs of social
Catholicism and always on the side of the last and most fragile sections of the
population.”
He also upheld La Pira’s work to promote social and
international peace, with diplomatic activity, international conferences, a
strong stance against nuclear war and the war in Vietnam.
Prophets of peace and workers for the common good
He encouraged those present to “keep alive and to spread the
patrimony of ecclesial and social action of Venerable Giorgio La Pira; in
particular his integral witness of faith, his love for the poor and
marginalized, his work for peace, the implementation of the social message of
the Church and his great fidelity to Catholic guidelines”.
“These are all elements which constitute a valid message for
the Church and society today” he said.
Example for those who work in public sector
Pope Francis noted that La Pira’s example “is especially
valuable for those who work in the public sector” and are called to be vigilant
towards those negative situations that undermine the common good and the
dignity of the person.
Quoting Giorgio La Pira who said ‘Politics is a commitment
to humanity and holiness’, the Pope underscored this concept saying politics is
“therefore a demanding way of service and responsibility for the lay faithful,
called to animate temporal realities in a Christian way, as the Second Vatican
Council teaches”.
He urged those present to treasure the legacy of La Pira and
to “be peacemakers, architects of justice, witnesses of solidarity and
charity”.
Speaking off-the-cuff the Pope concluded his discourse with
an encouragement to be bringers of a “new spring” by being prophets of hope and
of holiness, and by never being afraid to soil one’s hands to work and go
forward.
“Swallows, he said, are needed today: you are
swallows!”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét